Saturday, October 20, 2012

Many of you will know about my three dogs - Taz, Jack and Pip. I have occasionally posted photographs on blogs and Facebook, and some readers will have met 'the boys' at talks I have come to give around the UK.

Today's post is especially to remember and celebrate Taz.

He was a rescue puppy. His mother had an irresponsible owner who had not bothered to spay her, and would let her out when on season. She was 10 years old when she gave birth to Taz and a brother and sister. At that point, she was taken into the care of a charity.
We were looking for a pup for my dog-mad 12 year old son and were put in touch with the charity. My son chose Taz from the litter and at 7 weeks old, he joined our family. My son was also a huge fan of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character at the time, hence the name. It was good from out point of view because it was short and strong and an excellent training name.

Taz (right) and his brother as puppies features in our local newspaper
and held by the kennel manager where they were being housed.

Taz the tiny (just visible) puppy, already being introduced to the allotment!

Taz did indeed prove very easy to train. We didn't know his ancestry, but he obviously had a lot of collie in him. At different times we also suspected corgie and spaniel, but who knows? He was bright and intelligent. By the time he was a mature dog, I could order him to stay outside a shop and he would do so, come hell or high water. He quickly learned to stop at kerbs and wait. We never taught him 'Sit' even though he knew 'Stay.' As my husband said, 'How would you like to sit down on a cold wet pavement?'

Taz as a handsome young dog

As above. About one and a half

He loved his walks and despite his short legs could go for miles and miles. He would chase rabbits and squirrels. A few he caught, most escaped to live another day. He was an expert ratter, and mouser. There was the embarrassing time he caught a pheasant on our walk, having veered off the path and onto a private game reserve. Then trotted all the way home behind us with his contraband booty in his mouth.
He wasn't a knee sitter at home, but out and about was a different matter and he would enjoy plonking himself down in your lap while he gazed round at the world. Wherever we were, he was always close, always attentive.

On the steam railway train to Whitby

One dog and his man

He wasn't that keen on playing fetch with a ball, but loved to catch one in his mouth and throw it back to you with a little twist of his jaw. Among other simple pleasures he loved a good swim in the local pond, and was always game for a paddle.

Settrington Yorkshire during research for To Defy A King

A wet car in prospect!

However he HATED being give a bath (just look at the colour of that water!).

He adored the snow and the moment any fell he would be out in it making doggy snow angels.

One of his most favourite occupations was riding in the car. He especially loved it at night, where he would watch the lights like a child watching the illuminations. Even in his last days when he was too poorly to go for walks, he still liked a trip in the car and some of his old spark would return. Taz had a weakness for soft toys and always had a favourite one that would be chewed, sucked and carried round until it fell to pieces. We always knew when it was bed-time because Taz would trot past us, his teddy in his mouth, run up the stairs and climb into the built in wardrobe where he slept. Never in the bed; always in the wardrobe. He stored his marrow bones in there too.

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Taz was equable about sharing his humans. He got on with our cats when we had them. There was the occasional spat, but it was all mouth and no trousers. Later, when he was an elderly gent, but still with all his faculties, he weathered the arrival of two spirited Patterjack pups with aplomb. They might have seemed as if they were running rings around him, but he was always in charge, even to his final days and always led the pack out on walks.

In later years, medication for an enlarged heart kept the problem well controlled. A benign tumour that could have turned nasty was dealt with by an operation and he went on for another three years until the increasing problems of old age finally overtook him. He started refusing food and his quality of life diminished to grim existence, so we took the hardest decision any pet owner has to face.
Taz was our first dog and a deeply loved, very special family member. We had the joy and privilege of knowing him for more than 14 years and there is a place in our hearts that will always be filled with his presence, and empty without it.
Farewell but not goodbye forever, our lovely Taz.

A blissful doggy moment.

A few more photos of Taz going about the business of living a full and rich doggy life.

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Last weekend I was away in London attending the annual Historical Novel Society Conference at the University of Westminster. It was a tremendous gathering of readers and writers of historical fiction from around the world and included some of the biggest names across the genre, among them the superstars Bernard Cornwell, Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory. I was behind the camera most of the time, so you won't see many of me, but I think you can get a flavour of how fantastic this event was from the pictures posted here, including excursions to Greenwich and the Museum of London.

London Eye seen from the river

Big Ben

Face of Big Ben

Setting out from Westminster Dock

Statue of Boudicca

Carol McGrath talks to another HNS member

St Paul's Cathedral

The Globe Theatre

The Anchor public house

Replica of Drake's ship The Golden Hind

Symbol of the Billingsgate Fishmongers Guild

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Model of Tudor palace at Greenwich

Tales from the crypt at Greenwich

The Painted chamber

Listening to the guide

Westminster University - everyone gathers to hear the opening speeches

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THE WINTER CROWN

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

" Wow! I feel like someone used to watching movies in black and white but has just seen the first one in technicolor! " A personal letter from a reader.

"The Winter Crown ...will, I have no doubt, become the definitive fictional account of this remarkable woman.' ..." I’ve read a fair few fictional depictions of Henry II over the years and I must say that his portrait in The Winter Crown has the most authentic feel of them all."Kate Atherton, author of For Winters Night blog.

"Eeanor’s life story has been told many times over in historical novels but rarely with such insight, emotional intensity and page-turning readability." Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post.

"In the world of the arts, the Black Legend and the Golden Myth still hold sway, as seen in novels, such as Alison Weir's, which seek to portray both the scandalous, adulterous queen of legend and the powerful female ruler. Historians may shake their heads at the perpetuation of such myths, but many historical novelists such as Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends that surround Eleanor."

THE SUMMER QUEEN UK cover

US paperback cover. UK hardback

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SUMMER QUEEN

"What I loved about this novel, and I have felt this way about all of Elizabeth’s novels that I have read, is that she does not pander to stereotypes or write scandal for the sake of it. The historical Eleanor is defamed beyond belief- a whore chasing anything in trousers, a woman who committed incest with her uncle, a woman who was ‘ahead of her time’, and so on. Elizabeth’s Alienor is none of these things. She is treated fairly, as a woman of her own time, written in a believable way. Elizabeth does not go for scandal because she does not need to- the writing in this novel makes that very clear. Her scene setting is lovely, her character development top notch, and the book is a compulsive page turner. I couldn’t put it down." Sarah Bell

."The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." Kate Atherton, blogger.

"I have read just about everything I can about Eleanor and enjoyed both biographical and fictional accounts of her life but I must say that your creation of Eleanor is the most compelling." Reader from Australia

"I loved the story; I loved the way the author wrote Alienor as a woman of her times instead of a thoroughly modern independent woman, or a slut in chase of anything in pants. As with all Chadwick novels, there's also the added plus of being sucked into another century with the sights, smells and sounds that wrap up a darn-near perfect reading experience. I couldn't put it down, and very sorry I'm going to have to wait for the next installment. Reader from the USA"

I often see the expressions, `fleshing out the history' and `making it real', and they more than apply here...the main aspect that made me keep turning the pages and burning the midnight oil? The things that I didn't know about Alienor.." Reader from Australia

"Chadwick has succeeded where many other novelists have failed by giving us not just the legend but the very human young woman – intelligent, determined, witty and sexy." Pam Norfolk. Lancashire Evening Post.